I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday) explained

I Don't Have To Be Me ('til Monday)
Cover:SA - I Dont Have to Be Me.png
Type:single
Artist:Steve Azar
Album:Waitin' on Joe
B-Side:"You Don't Know How It Feels"
Genre:Country
Length:3:16
Label:Mercury Nashville
Producer:Rafe Van Hoy
Prev Title:Nights Like This
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Waitin' on Joe
Next Year:2002

"I Don't Have To Be Me ('til Monday)" is a song by American country music artist Steve Azar. It was released in October 2001 as the lead-off single from his album Waitin' on Joe. The song peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming Azar's highest-peaking single. Azar wrote this song with R.C. Bannon and Jason Young. It also peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his first and only Hot 100 entry, as well as his most successful single to date.

Content

In the song, the male narrator decides to call in sick on Friday so that he can have a three-day weekend. The song is in a 4/4 time signature and moderate tempo in the key of A-flat major, following the chord progression A-E-Fm7-D.[1]

Critical reception

Rick Cohoon of Allmusic gave the song a positive review, calling it "the lyrical embodiment of every working person’s fantasy" and "original, recognizable and conducive to toe tapping."[2]

Chart performance

"I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)" debuted at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of October 6, 2001. "I Don't Have to Be Me" spent forty-four weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, peaking at number 2 in mid-2002.[3] It was his first charting single since "I Never Stopped Lovin' You" in 1996.

Year-end charts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sheet music for 'I Don't Have to Be Me' . 6 May 2013 . MusicNotes.com . January 15, 2021.
  2. Web site: [{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t5472196|pure_url=yes}} "I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)" review]. Cohoon. Rick. Allmusic. 25 February 2010.
  3. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 244. 978-0-89820-177-2.
  4. Best of 2002: Country Songs . . . 2002 . July 24, 2012.